The print advertisement for the special's NBC premiere.
"A DuckTales Valentine!" (lengthened to "A DuckTales Valentine! (Amour or Less)" on its original title card) is the 93rd episode of DuckTales, originally aired as a prime-time special on The Magical World of Disney on February 11, 1990. The original Magical World of Disney broadcast had the special followed up with a rerun of an earlier episode of A Disney Valentine, which featured three romance-themed Disney shorts - Mickey's Delayed Date, Mr. Duck Steps Out, and Canine Casanova. The original hour-length special (with the addition of A Disney Valentine) would air a few more times on the Disney Channel in February 1992, about three years before the series itself would begin airing in reruns there, technically making this the first DuckTales episode to rerun on the Disney Channel.
This was also notably the last DuckTales episode to air before the theatrical release of DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp in August 1990.
Synopsis[]
A few days before Valentine's Day, Scrooge is preparing for an expedition to the Temple of Aphroducky, where "the greatest treasure of all" is supposedly hidden. The nephews and Webby want to come along, since they haven't been spending a lot of time with him lately, but he won't allow it. Of course, like before, they stow away by hiding in one of the supply boxes being loaded onto the plane. Once arriving at the waters where the Temple supposedly is, Scrooge sends Launchpad out to scout ahead and then sits down on the box that the kids stowed away in, causing them to make noise. Scrooge orders them to come out and, after seeing it's just the kids, threatens to take away dessert for a month. Launchpad then calls him back on the plane radio to say that he's spotted the Temple.
When the group shows up in the Temple of Aphroducky, which is decorated with statues of herself as well as Vulcan and Cupid, Louie finds a chest with Greek words written on it. Scrooge recognizes the text as saying that the greatest treasure is hidden inside the chest. However, when they open it, they find nothing except the word "Philos", the Greek word for "love", engraved at the bottom. This aggravates Scrooge, who says that he could've gotten this kind of sentiment from a Valentine card. However, Dewey then points out that the arrows attached to Cupid's statue are made of gold, leading Scrooge to believe this expedition didn't turn out so bad after all. But just then, a shark that's been lurking about comes after the ducks. Launchpad grabs a rusted shield and fights to protect his friends from the shark. In the battle that follows, his posterior gets poked by one of Cupid's arrows. He then proceeds to kiss the shark, much to its disgust, after which Scrooge and the kids trap it inside a giant teacup. As Launchpad tries to flirt with the shark, Scrooge takes the arrows from Cupid's statue and the Ducks head back to the plane, having to drag the lovesick Launchpad back. On the way back, the nephews and Webby can't help but wonder what's going on with Launchpad, and then realize that the arrows really must be Cupid's love-granting arrows, but Scrooge will have none of that.
Meanwhile, on Mount Olympus, Aphroducky and her husband Vulcan are having a bitter argument; as it turns out, Vulcan, out of annoyance about Aphroducky making people fall in love all the time, has hidden her magic arrows and won't tell her where they are. After throwing a potted plant at Vulcan, Aphroducky goes out to the balcony to sulk when she suddenly notices her magic lantern is lit, which means that someone has been in her Temple. Turning on her heart-shaped viewscreen, she sees the shark breaking out of its imprisonment and swimming away. More importantly, though, she also notices her quiver on Cupid's statue and realizes that Vulcan hid the arrows in the most obvious place she could have looked, but they aren't there now. Rewinding the camera footage, she sees Scrooge taking the arrows and decides to pay him a visit.
Later, back at the Money Bin, Scrooge is showing the kids the wooden display stand he made for the arrows. The kids aren't amused, saying they were hoping it was something for Valentine's Day, but Scrooge again brushes them off, saying it's just an excuse for the greeting card companies to make money. Just then, Aphroducky shows up and demands Scrooge return her arrows. When he refuses, she proceeds to start blasting at him. Webby grabs one of the arrows and jabs Aphroducky in the back with it, which proves to be a bad idea as it then makes her fall in love with Scrooge.
At McDuck Manor, Scrooge is outright annoyed with Aphroducky's newfound affection towards him, and the kids aren't happy about it either. They then figure that all they have to do is stick Aphroducky with the arrows again and make sure she sees herself in a mirror this time. They prepare to trap her in a tapestry so they can get her with the arrow, but this backfires when they inadvertently spring it on Scrooge, causing him to reciprocate Aphroducky's affections. Later that day, Scrooge begins construction on a new temple for Aphroducky on the mansion grounds. Webby goes to give Scrooge a Valentine cupcake that she made for him, despite the nephews bemoaning that he doesn't care about them now. When she presents the cupcake to him, Scrooge gives it to Aphroducky, who instead just tosses it on the ground.
Later, as Scrooge is preparing for a press conference, the nephews find Webby coming downstairs with a suitcase, saying she's running away because Scrooge doesn't love them anymore. As the nephews try to tell her that's not the case, Launchpad suddenly comes by, also carrying suitcases and dressed in a scuba suit. He tells them that he can't live without the shark he fell for earlier and is going to live under the sea. Webby then points out to Launchpad that if he goes to live with the shark, he'll never be able to fly a plane again. This freaks out Launchpad and undoes the arrow's spell on him. Noticing that Launchpad came to his senses when faced with the choice of never flying again, the kids come to the conclusion that a person's true passion is what breaks the spell, and therefore they should use Scrooge's love of money to do the same for him.
The kids find Aphroducky relaxing in the Money Bin and tell her that she may be suffering "cash-ititis", an allergy to money. Aphroducky brushes this off at first, but soon starts to think she may indeed have this allergy when the kids make it look like she is suffering the symptoms - sneezing, skin turning green, and feathers falling out. A panicked Aphroducky tells Scrooge to keep his money away from her because it's making her sick. The kids tell their great-uncle that he's going to have to choose between Aphroducky or his money. At the press conference, however, Scrooge (who noticeably was not suffering the same freak-out that happened when Launchpad's spell was broken) announces to the press that he's choosing Aphroducky over his money and is moving away to marry her and live on Mount Olympus, much to the kids' dismay. Unbeknownst to them all, Vulcan is watching the press conference on TV and is infuriated at Scrooge's declaration, so he makes his way to Duckburg.
Later, as Scrooge and Aphroducky are about to leave, the nephews and Webby try to convince their great-uncle they don't want him to go, saying that he can't live on Mount Olympus... and neither can they. Realizing that he may have to leave his grandnephews and adoptive niece behind finally gets Scrooge to start freaking out of his spell the way Launchpad did earlier. Just then, a giant Vulcan shows up, ready to incinerate the World's Richest Duck. As Vulcan starts blasting all over the mansion grounds, the kids fall into one of the holes created by them, and their cries for help finally bring Scrooge back to his senses. As Launchpad keeps Vulcan distracted, Scrooge pulls the kids out of the hole. After getting the kids to safety, Scrooge gets into a construction truck and backs it up against the now-completed temple, causing its pillars to fall down and making Vulcan slip on them like marbles. Vulcan gets back up quickly, but he is then shrunk down to his normal size by Aphroducky, who is still under the arrows' effects and refusing to let her actual husband harm Scrooge. Right as she's threatening Vulcan to his face, the nephews stick her with her arrows again, this time causing her to fall back in love with her husband. No longer arguing for the time being, Vulcan and Aphroducky leave, but not before Aphroducky asks Scrooge for her arrows back. Scrooge obliges, saying he has all the treasure he needs right here (referring to his family).
Memorable quotes[]
|
"It's so hard to get good help, especially when you don't want to pay for it." |
Scrooge: Did I not tell you this mission was dangerous?! Huey: We laugh in the face of danger! Scrooge: Oh? Let's see you laugh in the face of a month without dessert! |
Notes[]
- It is revealed in this episode that Launchpad's astrological sign is Aries, which indicates that his birthday is between March 21 and April 19. (However, the 2017 reboot would contradict this by retconning his birthday to be September 18th, the day "The Treasure of the Golden Suns" originally aired in 1987.)
Voice cast[]
- Russi Taylor - Huey Duck, Dewey Duck, Louie Duck, Webby Vanderquqck
- Alan Young - Scrooge McDuck
- Terry McGovern - Launchpad McQuack
- Kenneth Mars - Vulcan
- Linda Gary - Aphroducky
- Chuck McCann - Duckworth
External links[]
- Disney Wiki: A DuckTales Valentine
- DuckTales Wiki: A DuckTales Valentine
- Other Holidays Specials Wiki: A DuckTales Valentine
- "A DuckTales Valentine" at the Internet Movie Database
- "A DuckTales Valentine" recap at TV Tropes